Lockdown hits livelihood of Sambalpur bidi rollers

Sambalpur: The lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has hit the bidi rollers in the district. While there are 27 registered bidi companies in the district, only around five are running now, affecting livelihood of a large section of 1.45 lakh bidi makers.
Mitrabhanu Podh, general secretary of Sambalpur Zilla Bidi Shramik Union, said all the bidi companies in the district have shut shop due to the lockdown on March 25.“This remained so till May 3 when five bidi units started operation after the government gave some relaxation. But majority of the bidi companies in the district are still closed,” he said.
The bidi units provide kendu leaves, thread and other material to the bidi rollers who make the bidis at home. The workers get Rs 142.62 for rolling 1,000 bidis. “But since the bidi companies have stopped operation, the rollers are suffering a lot,” Podh added.
Majority of the 1.45 lakh bidi rollers in Sambalpur district are women belonging to the ST/SC community. Bidi is rolled in houses in around 17 districts in the state. There are around 6 lakh bidi rollers in Odisha.
Podh said, “The imposition of 28% GST on bidi had hit the companies hard. Because of the high GST, the sale of bidis has come down, affecting the livelihood of many bidi rollers. And now the lockdown has compounded problems. The government is declaring assistance for various sections of workers but has completely forgotten the bidi rollers.”